Teeeitoey



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

0. 0. QUINN.

TUNNEL EXGAVATOR.

N. mum Maw-r. o.c.

(N5 Model.)

.fif

I (N0 M del.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

0. 0. QUINN.

TUNNEL BXGAVATOR. No. 330,617. Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

I {PM 3 W Si."- ZM @W' (ND MOdG L) 3 Sheets-8heet 3.1

0. 0; QUINN. TUNNEL EXGAVATOR. ,No. 330, 617. Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

N. PETERS. "curl-MW". WIIMIIHOII, D (l ice onone side of a rail, which is very often there being hard ice on the south side of the UNITED STATES;

CHARLES o. QUINN, on FARGO, DAKOTA TERRITORY.

TUNNEL EXCAVATOR.

PATE T OFFICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 330,617, dated November 1'7, 1885.

Application filed August 11, 1885 To ai whom it may concern: l Be it known that I, CI-LARLEs C. QUINN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fargo, inthe county of Cass and Territory of Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tunnel Excavators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a sideelevation. Fig. 2 is atop plan View on line m m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation in section, showing device locked in full lines and unlocked in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is a sectional planview illustrating the same point. i

This invention relates to that class of devices known as railroad-track clearers, and it consists more particularly in the tunnelshaped excavators and their arrangement in relation to the track; in the method and means by which they are suspended and carried; in the detail of their operation in the track-clearer and its operation in conjunction with the excavators, and in the construction, arrangement, and combination of all the parts, as will now be more fully explained.

The objects of my improvements in switch, frog, guard-rail, and crossing-flange clearers are First. To so construct and attach the tunnel excavators as to prevent them from cutting off fish-plates and bolt-heads on the insides of the rails. This I attain by placing the tunnel excavators as close as possible to the inside tops of the rails and by arranging them at an angle of fromone totwenty degrees to the line of the rails, the number of degrees depending upon thef gage and curve of the railroad. By placing the tunnel excavators as closely as possible to the top of inside of rails it is obvious that when there is too much side motion in the machine the tunnel excavators, being pivoted, will automatically rise andlower at their outer ends when brought into violent contact with the insides of the tops of the rails. This only occurs when the machine has too much side motion, and then only when cutting the case on railroads running east and west,

north rail and'no ice on the north side of the south rail.

. Serial No. 174,144. (No model.)

Second. "To render it unnecessary to go out on the machine while in motion to vertically adjust the perpendicular flange-cutters and tread-clearers. This feature I attain by pro- Viding a tumbling shaft, which operates in conjunction with the automatic locking device and governor and the steam-cylinder device. This feature, however, is only necessary on railroads where shallow frogs and shallow railroad-crossings are used, in which case the perpendicular fiange'cutters are lifted enough to clear the top base between frog-rails and. the crossing rails.

Third. To provide an automatic locking device which may be operated with a vertical stop-bolt provided with aspring. This automatic lock insures safety to the governor steam device.

Fourth. To provide a governor steaiucylin- 7o der device to lift the tunnel excavators when clearing below the rail-tops and to raise the flange-cutters to clear shallow frogs and to cross between rails and below rail tops at crossings, the governor-steam-cylinder device being constructed to operate in conjunction with the automatic locking device to lift the tunnel excavators from their outer and top sides and to lift the perpendicular tread-cutters from their upper ends.

' l attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The improvements consist in placing the tunnel excavators A diagonally across. the frame at an angle to the line of the rail of from one to twenty degrees, the number of degrees depending on the gage and curves of the railroads. The outer ends of the tunnel excavaj tors A are also arranged as closely as possible to the insides and tops of the rails when designed to scrape or clear below the tops of the rails. The tunnel excavators are pivoted on bolts a a, and bolts 0, a are secured 'to the diagonal drop-hangers b b,and these hangers are secured to a frame, B. Each of the tunnel excavators A is also secured to safety-strap E, provided with chains E and to lifting-chains When the tunnel excavators A are designed to scrape or clear below the rail-tops they are operated by the governor steam-cylinder D and D'in coincidence with automatic locking device 0, tumbling shaft F, arm F,

ICO

2 I f sedan and the liftingchains E, each of the said tunnel excavatorsAbeingsuspended by chains E E the latter attached to arm F on the tumbling-shaft F, which shaft has its bearings on the vertical iron brackets F F. The longer or upright arm 13 of the shaft F is connected by a pistonrod, G, to the governor steamcylinder D and D, and by its upper arm, F, with the automatic locking deviceG. When scraping or clearing above the track,the tunnel excavator A is rigidly held by the safetystrap E, secured to the threaded bolt E bythe chains E The governor and steam-cylinder device consists of the steam-cylinder D, secured to vertical timber B the governor-cylinder D, secured'to the steam-cylinder D.

The operation of the governor and steamcylinder is as follows: Steam or air is applied to cylinder D through the pipe D forcing the piston-head D against the regulating diaphragm-stem D and the governor-regulating spring D and by the excess pressure on the piston-head D the tunnel excavators A Aare by means of piston G, arm F and connecting mechanism lifted. The regulatingspringD compressed by the piston-head D ,in conjunction with the mechanism connected therewith, regulates the height and vertical angle of the tunnel excavators A when designed to scrape or clear below the rail-tops. It also regulates the height of the perpendicular flange-cutters A A when designed to out below shallow frogs and crossings between the rails. Many frogs and crossings are shallow on account of being filled about two inches from the bottoms of the rails. The piston-head D is also held in its respective positions by stop-bolt O and bolt-spring O in connection with the lever-arm H, arm F, and connecting mechanism. The piston-head D and the follower-stem D are also held in their respective positions bystop-bolt G and stop-bolt spring C. The regulating governor-spring D is ofsufficient strength to resist a pressure of, say, one hundred pounds per square inch on the piston-head D As soon as the pressure on the piston-head D exceeds this amount the stop-bolt spring 0 forces the stopbolt 0 down ahead of the horizontal lever H.

This governor steam-cylinder device not only holds and operates the tunnel excavators and perpendicular flange-cutters, but also insures the instantaneous release of the automatic locking device.

The improvement in the locking device consists of a lever, H, the stop-bolt 0 the stopbolt spring 0 and a spring-box, O, as is shown in the drawings, working in conjunction with the governor steam-cylinders.

When the device is unlocked, the bottom end of diaphragm-bolt O is forced down in front of horizontal lever H.

To look the device, admit air or steam into cylinder D, which of course forces piston-head D against diaphragm-stem D, and compresses theregulating-spring D about one and three fourths inch,and at this point springC forces diaphragm-bolt 0 down in front of horizonbars being held suspended by chains J J, and

attached to arms on the tumbling-shaft K, which is pivoted on the vertical timbers K K. The longer or upright arm of the shaft K is connected by rod L to the long arm F of the tumbling-shaft F, and operates in coincidence with the governor steamcylinder and the automatic locking device. When the flangecutters are designed to scrape or clear sand, dirt, ice, and snow below the shallow part of the frogs and crossings, they are operated by the tumbling-shaft K, in conjunction with the locking device and the governor steam-cylinder D and D, and when designed to scrape or clear above the shallow parts of the frogs and crossings they are held by the set-screws t i and set-nuts t t".

Having thus described my improvements, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the main frame, the

tunnel excavators secured diagonally across the frame at an angle to the line of the rails, and pivoted on bolts a a, which are secured to the diagonal drop-hangers, said hangers being secured to the main frame, with safetystraps secured to the tunnel excavators and the main frame, substantially asdescribed.

2. In combination with the perpendicular flange-cutters, the elbows I I on the upper ends of the square bars, set-screws and set nuts, lifting-chains, tumbling-shaft, vertical timbers, and the connection-rod, substantially as described.

3. In combination with the automatic locking-plate, the stop-bolt, the stop-bolt spring, and the stop-bolt-spring box, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the governor-cylinder D, the steam or air cylinder D, the steam or air pipes, the follower-stem, the regulating diaphragmstem, and the regulating-spring, substantially as described.

5. The tunnel excavators and flange-cutters, in combination with a common lever which simultaneously operates both excavators and.

7. The combination, with the perpendicular In testimony whereof I affix my signature in flange-cutters and the excavators, of thelevers presence of two witnesses. which connect them and the locking device, substantially as described.

5 8. In combination with the excavators and the flange-cutters, the locking device consist Witnesses: ing of the plate H, bolt C spring 0, and H. C. SOUTHARD, spring-box G, as set forth. I t ORIN W. FRANCIS.

O. G. QUINN.

Corr'ecti one in Letters Patent No. 330,617.

Uouintersigned It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 330,617, granted November 17, 188%5, upon the application of Charles G. Quinn,'of Fargo, Dakota Territory, for an improvement in Tunnel Excavators, errors appear requiring the following corrections, vih: In line 3, page 2, of the printed specification, the word latter should read former yin Fig. l of the drawing the lower arm of the bell-crank lever mounted upon the aha is should read as if lettered F instead of F and in Fig. 3 F should he read as F and that the Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein to makefit conform to the record of the ease in the Patent Omce.

sgned, countersigned, and sealed this 20th day of April, A. D. 1586.

[SEALJ H. L. MULDROW,

1 Acting Secretary of the Inerior.

M. V. .MONTGOMERY,

Commissioner of Patents. 

